A Precious Opportunity
by Hiccupisnotuseless
Summary: Set Before Httyd 2. Life always offers many opportunities: the ones you can take, and then keep your work and life normally ... and the ones that can make you ... being recognized for something that can make your status elevated almost to the highest stars. And when you meet an opportunity like this on your way ... you cannot leave it there. Rated T for Violence and Bad words.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, gentle readers and writers of Httyd! I am always Hiccupisnotuseless, returned to show another story about this magical and wonderful saga called How to Train Your Dragon!**

**I have seen just a few time ago the sequel, Httyd 2, and I loved it too! I saw it twice in the cinemas, and I can say I did a good thing! **

**This saga will be the revolution of Animated Cinema, absolutely! I can say it, and I am sure of it!**

**Anyway, back to the story! Watching the movie, I liked a lot all the new characters, included this one: Eret!**

**I actually like this character, he isn't like I imagined him: I have found him a bit funnier than I thought. But hey, he is still great! **

**Besides, he is in one of the favourite movie/books/comics etc. characters categories: the bad guys who become good guys! I like this a lot!**

**And I am happy to write a story about him! I will try to make it dark and serious and possibly good for all the readers who will read it. The beginning could be a bit annoying and boring, but I will try to make the central parts more dark and good. With a lot of action!**

**So, without any other word, let's read this new story about a great charcter from a great movie!**

* * *

**A Precious Opportunity**

"Sea calm and limpid, Captain!", the man on the tree yelled from its top.

The Captain nodded with a smile and walked on the deck, watching carefully the work of his men.

The sun had rose by a lot, and as already said, the sea wasn't making any trouble.

Everything was calm, and this was what the Captain always loved about the day.

When everything started in this way, then they day could really offer many good things.

At least, it was so many of the times.

The young Captain, around 21 years old, arrived at the end of the ship and smelled happily the air, his nostrils smelling a good salt smell that wasn't annoying him in any way. And the wind was making him feel really relazed.

The Captain's chest took in more air, growing a bit more.

Then, he released the air. Another normal day was starting in a good way.

Then, he turned behind him and looked at his crew, all intent to do their work.

He smirked, and then breathed slowly.

After some seconds, all the men heard his loud voice saying in a happy tone:-"Another good morning for all of us, men! And this means we can have also a full good day!"

The crew showed all smiled and smirks on the various faces of the mariners, always happy to hear the quotidian orders of the Captain.

"This means ... hurry up to do what are you doing. I wanna ALL, and I repeat, ALL of you ready in six minutes, from now!

Dragons won't show up when we want, so we have to be ALL at our places and give them our classic, and above all READY ... READY ... greeting on our ship! Am I clear?!", the brown haired Captain yelled with a grin and a particular shine in his brown eyes.

Everyone cheered, and soon reprised their work, with more speed.

The Captain smirked, and nodded to them.

His crew was always the best in these situations, and he couldn't be happier of it.

Almost all of the times, they managed to make this work very efficient, and so to not make them die due money's absence.

Besides, they were also part of those few people who managed to make things work so.

Their life was already difficult, and they couldn't let it become more than so.

But they weren't naive, and they have always managed to make things work without problems, absolutely.

The big wooden ship slipped slowly on the sea's surface. Luckily in that sun day the wind was making them move gently and gracefully.

The Captain knew this would be a good day for them, as all the other days of the last two months.

* * *

After five hours, the ship was still slipping without any change.

And the crew was there, Ready as the Captains has said ... but sadly there was nothing to make them Ready to do anything.

But this was absolutely nothing to be worried about.

The crew, even if it was a Viking crew, knew perfectly that becoming anxious and worried for something couldn't let this happen soon.

And besides, their work was a work that needed to be done very carefully; everything around them could be useful and precious for them, even the littlest movement.

For this, everyone stood at their own place, watching carefully every single part of the sea.

The Captain stood at his place, watching carefully the water, absolutely immovable like a statue, if it wasn't for the wind that was moving his brown hair and his white vest.

His brown eyes stared at the sea, incredibly not blinking neither for a minute.

"Nothing to see, Captain! Nothing to see!", a hoarse and shrill voice exclaimed near the ear of the young Viking.

He looked to his right, and smirked.

"Yeah, nothing, little rascal!", he said, patting delicately the blue and soft head of the little and beautiful blue and green bird on his shoulder.

"Nothing to see!", the bird repeated.

The Captain chuckled, when suddenly he noticed one of his men behind him.

"What is, Stonebutt?"

The big Viking, a blond haired man with yellow moustache, wearing a fur white vest and a fur green pants, and with two big iron bracelets to his wrists, said:-" Well ... it said it yet!"

And nodded to the bird.

The Captain stared at him confused, and then chuckled amused.

"Please Captain, make those words the only that beast will say today, please!", another voice said.

The Captain turned to his left, and saw a tall and sturdy woman, with two brown long braids, and that was wearing a two horned Viking helmet on the head, and red and green shirt and pants, and fur brown boots. Her ice blue eyes looked sternly at the young Captain ... or rather, at what was on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, Roughtooth! He won't be so annoying today!", he said, patting delicately again the bird.

"Annoying today!", it repeated.

The young woman snorted terribly, and said:-"I hope. I really hope ... for it!"

And returned to her place, on the left side of the ship.

After an half and hour, finally what they were searching for was seen:-"Captain! Captain! To starboard, to starboard!", a young man exclaimed.

Everyone looked there, and soon the light in their eyes sparkled more.

Under the water, the reason of their being careful and watching intently the sea.

It was there, swimming gracefully and naturally as only it could do.

Totally immersed in the water, swimming slowly as if he was a bird floating in the air, there was a blue reptile with very limpid and evident scales.

"It's a Thunderdrum, Captain! A Thunderdrum!", one of the crew, a young girl with blond hair wearing a blue shirt and blue pants and blue boots.

The young Captain watched the dragon carefully, and then said:-"Yep. Another Thunderdrum. With this, we have met five of them this week. We cannot keep to bring these. We've already have so much for those four we brought last times."

The crew looked all concerned at him. "So, what do we do? We let it going away?", asked Stonebutt.

The Captain looked at him, and then smirked. "Who said it cannot be useful?"

And then yelled:-"READY FOR THE ATTACK, GUYS! MAKE THE NET AND THE HARPOONS HAPPY TO RECEIVE ANOTHER PREY! THE HUNT IS STARTED!"

The crew finally cheered happily, and everyone got ready to fight the big dragon and so make a sense to that day.

Another beautiful, exciting, hard, hopeful day for a crew of Dragon Trappers.

**Liked the first chapter? I hope yes. And not, the Captain is not who you think ... and the Thunderdrum is not Thornado! Sorry, but it is so. Besides, you couldn't like what happens to it in the next chapter, so ...**

**Hope you liked this, please say anything you want in a review. Advices about Grammar and Plot are REALLY accepted (I am not English or American, so ...)**

**Sincerely,**

**Hiccupisnotuseless**


	2. Chapter 2

**In this chapter will see a bit of action. Sorry if it isn't so good, but I am not really good writing those parts ... anyway, hope you won't be annoyed from this.**

The Thunderdrum kept its swimming, coming slowly up and down in the water, never touching the surface with its back, not letting any scale out of the water.

But this didn't mean anyone couldn't see it.

The blue dragon swam without hearing anything behind him, its eyes watching just in front of him.

The ship was really careful and slow, if it managed to not make any noise that could alert the Thunderdrum.

And the expert Dragon Trappers were really expert, at the point to not make any noise with anything on the ship so that any dragon could see them.

Their only hope was that the Thunderdrum wasn't part of a group of more dragons, so that they could attack him also easier.

Finally, the Captain gave the order.

"NOW!"

And then, the Thunderdrum growled terribly in the moment it saw the harpoon going down through the water, very near its left wing.

So, the dragon spun on itself and looked up, finally noticing the ship ... but also other four harpoons going towards it.

The blue reptile dodged them ably, but he failed in noticing the chains attached to them. In fact, those four things weren't harpoons, but four kind like anchors, that came down the dragon.

And after a few minutes, they were pulled up roughly ... stabbing the meat of the dragon, principally its belly.

Doing so, the poor dragon moaned hurtfully.

"Bring it up! But try to not hurt it more!", the Captain exclaimed.

"It's like to say Elof to not eat so much cheese without getting fatter!", Roughtooth said him smirking at another mariner, with a fur black beard and two brown angry eyes.

The Captain shook his head amused, and then returned to look at the water.

The entire back of the Thunderdrum was now visible, and the hurtful and furious growls of the beast were also making the atmosphere very hard.

Finally, the dragon was totally pulled out of the water, and the young Captain ran towards the bow of the ship, where three of his men were pulling out a big iron arched shaped thing.

"Hurry up with the muzzles! Hurry up!", he yelled, and started to help them to pull out it.

Then, they approached it to the board of the ship, ready to put it on the boat of the dragon.

The Thunderdrum rose the head and looked at the crew.

Its eyes tried to look more, but suddenly the pain in its skin increased, as the men who were grabbing the anchors started to turn its face towards the front of the ship, to put the muzzles in the moment the dragon's nose was in front of them.

When the Thunderdrum arrived nearer the board of the ship, its little round eyes finally noticed its attackers. And soon, its feelings were increased not just by the pain, but also by the rage.

"Keep so!", the Captain yelled.

The blue dragon finally arrived in front of the mariners, and they approached more the muzzles.

But instead of putting them where they wanted and so almost finishing their work, the dragon managed to open its mouth and to grab the muzzles, tightening them hardly with the teeth.

"What the ... tighten stronger!", the Captain yelled.

But the dragon's teeth were stronger, and kept to not lose the muzzles.

Roughtooth and other two men ran to grab three big clubs, and then ran terribly towards the dragon, starting to hit it.

"Stronger, guys! Let's show this thing we are stronger!", Roughtooth exclaimed.

The dragon growled again, and as one of the men approached more it ...

The many sharp teeth of the dragon grabbed the vest of one of the mariner, and after waving it roughly, threw him in the sea with a yell.

The Captain's eyes widened, but then he took the occasions.

"Put the muzzles now! Come on!"

The dragon turned hurriedly, and took the muzzles again, tightening them more.

"This thing is harder than we thought!", Roughtooth exclaimed.

The dragon started to move again, and soon all its body was moving, despite the anchors still in its skin.

The crew watched him carefully, trying to find soon a way to make it stop.

The dragon was like a big bull chained and hardly taken away to be killed and then eaten.

It was almost like the reptile was ... trying to ... free itself ... by ... but this was a too inventive thought.

"Come on!", the Captain yelled again.

Suddenly, the dragon let go the muzzles again ... and so ...

"Damn it ...", Stonebutt murmured, knowing perfectly what it was going to do.

The dragon opened its mouth more and more and more, as if it was letting inside all the air around it.

"Don't be stupid, a Thunderdrum cannot shot its roar if it is hurt so!", the Captain said.

But instead, it was like the Thunderdrum was going to do it.

"It wants to try it the same!", the girl with blond hair exclaimed.

The Captain couldn't believe at it.

The mouth of the dragon became bigger, and bigger, and bigger, until ...

The crew was slowly growing the fear, and due this anyone heard a soft noise in the air, like a shot arrow's ... but littler.

Suddenly, the Thunderdrum's mouth returned slowly to close, and the eyes of the dragon too.

The crew looked confused and dumbfounded by it.

How could the dragon be ... asleep, in a moment like that? Because it was sure, it was asleep, since they could clearly hear its soft breath.

Despite the anchors, that dragon managed to get calm so.

"Maybe it is dying ...", one of the crew said.

The Captain didn't understand actually anything.

It was the first time he was seeing something like this, in front of him.

"Ehy Captain ... the ... the dragon ... is", one of the mariners that were grabbing the anchors said, but he was cut off by the noise the anchors made when they slipped from his hands, and fell in the sea alongside the Thunderdrum.

"Ehy!", the Captain exclaimed looking sternly at his crew.

"Sor ... Sorry, but ... it was too heavy now!", the mariner tried to say.

The Captain looked sternly at him, and then returned to look at the dragon, that now was floating in the water without drowning ... peacefully sleeping.

"What the heck is happening here?", the Captain murmured to himself, scratching his forehead.

Suddenly, Stonebutt exclaimed:-"Ehy, look there! Captain!"

The entire crew of Trappers looked towards East, where the cliffs were, and suddenly they looked confused and surprised.

Another ship was coming towards them.

It had a blue sail, and it was half painted with blue on its side.

On the deck, they could see a group of six-seven men, and on the bow, looking probably at them, their Captain.

When the ship approached them more, from its bow a yell came.

"Hey there! I see we arrived at the good moment!", the man on the boat said with a smirk.

When he approached again, the crew could see that who has talked was a young man, maybe a twenty-five years boy, with long black hair and two big and almost perfidious brown eyes, perfectly in tune with his smirk.

He was wearing a yellow fur vest that was covering his sleeveless shirt and blue pants, and two big and fur armbands were covering his wrists.

Behind his back, they could clearly see a dagger attached to his vest, and leaning against his left leg a long sword.

When the new ship arrived in front of them, the young man said:-"I see that you don't really know so much about these big boys, right?"

The other crew looked confused.

"What?", their Captain said.

The black haired boy smirked more and said:-"I think that actually you are forgetting that a Thunderdrum can be dangerous in every moment, even if it was in a situation like it."

The brown haired Captain blinked again in confusion.

"You are lucky it wasn't on the deck, even if with the muzzles. If it managed to free himself from that trap, he could used the tail."

"The tail?", the captain asked.

"Yes. And believe me, you don't wanna being whipped by a Thunderdrum's tail. Believe me.", the young man said again.

The ohter crew looked still confused, and their Captain couldn't understand anything about this strange situation.

"But who are you ... ehy!"

He noticed that the men of the other ship had thrown nets on the sleeping dragon, and it was being pulled towards them.

"Ehy, what the heck are you doing! That's our Thunderdrum!", the brown haired Captain yelled.

The black haired boy smirk fell and he walked on his deck, saying:-"No. Actually, we saw it before, so it is ours!"

"What are you babbling about? You came just now!", Roughtooth exclaimed sternly.

"No, it is not true. You see, actually we were following this Thunderdrum from this morning, when we saw it two nights ago. It had seen us, and so we had to follow him more slowly, to not make it notice us again.

It worked, since it seemed as if the dragon had forgotten about our ship. And this morning, we saw your ship coming nearer it.

So, since I had recognized a Dragon Trappers' ship, I decided to let you doing the work. If you managed to capture the dragon ..."

"... you'd take it from our hands, not doing anything! Scoundrel, hideous little thief!", Elof yelled hideously.

The black haired Captain looked sternly at him, and then said with a huff:-"No ... I'd let you to take it. But since I clearly saw your ship was going to be drowned, I decided to intervene. And so, my dear friend Günter shot it with our special arrows!"

And nodded at a thin and tall black haired boy, around 23, who was wearing a blue sleeves fur shirt and green pants and boots with a bow in the hand and a bunch of arrows in the other.

"So ... you should thank me!", the young Captain said with a smile.

"You have no tight to take our prey! We did all the work! And besides, what makes you think you can say us that we were going to drown? Who are you, ah?", the brown haired Captain exclaimed.

The other Captain turned to him, and a stern and serious look appeared on his face, as if he was going to say something really decisive and unexpected.

The black haired boy snorted softly, and walked towards the board of his ship.

Then, he put a foot on the wooden parapet, and said:-"I thought my face and my superior methods were already known in these places.

I am Eret, son of Eret!"

**And so, the main character of the story is finally arrived! Hope you liked the chapter, even if short. Keep with this, and please don't burn at me. Constructive criticism is really accepted, alongside any advice about Grammar and Plot.**

**Thanks again, you are really great!**

**Hiccupisnotuseless**


	3. Chapter 3

**Things now start to be interesting. Hope you will like this chapter!**

"Eret, son of Eret?!", Elof exclaimed in astonishment.

"That Eret?!", another said.

"The heir of all the Erets?"

"The Dragon Trapper of almost every part of the Archipelago?!", the blond girl in blue clothes said, watching the young Trapper with widened eyes.

Everyone on the other ship looked amazed and terribly at the young Dragon Trapper, murmuring and keeping to watch with an incredible look HIM.

Eret smirked more, and then chuckled softly to himself, rubbing his big chin, on which there were strange blue painted stripes.

Everyone kept to admire him and to murmur incredible things about him.

"He is the real Trapper, without any doubt!", one of the men said.

"I heard he managed to catch a Nadder and a Gronckle making crash them against each other! What a genius!", Stonebutt exclaimed.

But not everyone was looking so happy or astonished at the young Trapper.

"Ok ... I admit you are an amazing expert in the sector ... but this doesn't allow you to take our prey!", Roughtooth exclaimed sternly.

Besides her, her Captain nodded firmly, looking sternly at Eret.

"She is true! Just because you are a Dragon Trapper of a Very High Level, this doesn't mean you are going to do this!"

Hearing this, the black haired Trapper snorted again.

"I have already said that we were following that Thunderdrum from a long time! And besides, I have also said you could have it, if you'd managed to capture that dragon! But since I have just saved you, you could at least show to be a bit thankful!"

"Who is saying you've just saved us?! Who is saying you didn't lie to us?!", the brown haired Captain said.

Eret looked at him more annoyed, but then shook his head huffing annoyed.

"What's your name, Captain?"

The brown haired boy snorted, and then walked on a barrel near the parapet, putting the hands on the hips, and said looking sternly.

"I'm Ivar Roggblock, sir! Captain of the "Smasher of the Seas!", he said, nodding at the ship.

Eret looked at him carefully, from the brown haired head, covered by a long Viking helmet, to his well built chest covered by a yellow shirt with two vertical blue stripes on it, and then to his well built grey pants and boots.

"I am a Dragon Trapper too, sir! One of the most famous around here. Until today, we managed to take all the dragons requested by our costumers, and we have always did this work in the right way!

We respect our fellow Trappers, but we are also honest people. And we are also not stupid! Absolutely! And we can clearly say we Cannot Believe so easily at what you said!"

Eret looked at him, with his firm look, his brown eyes in the other Captain's own brown eyes.

Then, he huffed again, and stretched out his right arm, pointing at the asleep Thunderdrum on his deck.

Then, he walked near it, under the stern and amazed gazes of the other crew's various members.

Eret walked near the Thunderdrum, and then stopped.

His brown eyes looked again at the crew of Ivar.

Then he smiled a bit, and stretched out the left arm, towards the dragon.

After a few seconds, his hand revealed a little arrow.

Then, he walked again towards the parapet, and swung in front of everyone, with a little sympathetic smile.

Ivar looked firmly at it, without changing anything.

Suddenly, Eret moved his hand, and one of his men nodded walking away.

After some minutes, he came back, with a long wooden thing in the hands.

The man put the end of it on the parapet of Eret's ship, and then put down slowly the wooden gangway.

The other board arrived on the Ivar's parapet.

The brown haired Captain looked at it, and then at Eret.

After a bit, he understood, and so, slowly, put his foot on it, and then, walked on the gangway.

Ivar arrived on the other ship, and at least jumped on Eret's deck, and the other Trapper put an arm around his shoulder, with his smile.

Ivar looked at him with his stern look, maybe also annoyed now.

Eret lead him toward the bow of his ship, and the two stopped in front of a strange wooden machine.

"You know what is this, right?", Eret asked Ivar.

The brown haired Captain looked at the strange thing, watching it carefully.

Then, he rose the head and said:-"Sure, I know it."

Eret nodded smiling, and then walked around the boy slowly, saying:-"Well ... and tell me, since you are surely a good expert of these beauties ... how long are they in this state? Can you tell me from how much time they were used?"

Ivar looked at him with the same look, and then back at the wooden machines.

They were some of the most important and complicated part of Dragon trapper ship, and some of the most genial creation in the sector.

Very complicated machines that made the life of every Dragon Trapper a bit easier, managing to give them all what they needed to receive the rightful reward and so have a life as anyone.

"Three days.", Ivar said again.

Eret looked at him saying:-"Right."

Ivar found again that smile ... so terribly annoying and ...

"So, since we have made clear you are wrong ... I think we should end here and keep to do our own business ... are you fine with this?", Eret asked, walking around Ivar and then offering him his left hand.

Ivar looked at the famous Dragon Trapper with his stern look, and then rose his own hand, shaking it with Eret's.

"Good!"

"Fine. Anyway, I guess we can let it to you. We have already taken four Thunderdrums this week, and I guess our costumer is tired of them.", Ivar said.

Eret looked at him a bit surprised by the phrase.

Ivar turned behind and walked again on the gangway, to return to his ship.

When he was almost at the half of the long wood, the voice of the other Captain made him turn to look at him again.

"Well ... we don't capture Thunderdrums often. So, I think ... we could make an exchange! Do you want any other type of dragon?"

Ivar blinked the eyes totally hit by what the other Trapper was saying.

Inside him, the brown haired Captain didn't look so convinced. It could really be a cheat ... since the famous Trapper didn't make Ivar feel so good right now.

"Yes ... we could take another type of dragon ... I mean, we brought almost every time sea dragons, so ..."

"Excellent!", Eret exclaimed, and then jumped towards the centre of the ship, where a metal noise broke out in the air.

And then, three of Eret's men started to take out something from it.

Soon, green and dark red scales came out from the ship, shining a bit due the sunrises.

Ivar and his crew found in front of their eyes a big, totally green with some yellow spines Monstrous Nightmare. And to its right, a dark red with some black scales on his face, under the eyes, Gronckle.

The two we put on the deck with a big iron platform, raised up from the three men with levers.

And their look seemed the same of the Thunderdrum's; asleep like stones.

And maybe someone could laugh hearing this, since Gronckles loved eating stones every moment in the day.

"You can choose, fellows! A great, able and hot Nightmare ... or a massive, heavy like a mountain, and incredibly lethal despite this stupid and lazy look ... Gronckle! Your is the choice!"

Ivar looked really confused at him, and then turned to the dragons.

Behind him, his crew looked really dumbfounded, but while they were talking, they couldn't help to say something that could mean all the admiration towards what they were saying.

"Or, if you want to not exaggerate ...", Eret suddenly said, walking towards another of his men, who handed him something.

The black haired Trapper turned again towards Ivar, and rose the hands, revealing in his right a blue scaled little dragon, and in his left another one, but this time with brown scales.

"Terrible Terrors! Also this could be a good affair, right?", Eret said smirking, raising more the two asleep dragons by the neck, as if he was grabbing two dead chickens.

Ivar looked at his crew, that was still murmuring.

At least, some of them looked at their Captain, with a sort of waiting look.

Ivar opened the mouth to speak, but didn't say anything: he knew very well his crew wanted just one thing.

The Captain looked at all of his fellows once again, still with his mouth half opened, and at least sighed.

He turned again towards the other ship, and said, crossing the eyebrows:-"We take the Gronckle."

His crew murmured again, but finally an happy look was appearing on some faces.

Eret smiled again, and then nodded:-"Fine. Men, let's give our fellow Trappers their request. Come on!"

Ivar sighed as if he has just make a very difficult decision.

"Wait! We could ask more!", one girl from the crew exclaimed.

Ivar turned soon towards her, and soon a stern gaze crossed his face, and the girl, a brown haired young lady around eighteen years with green eyes, and that was wearing a violet shirt with a leather skirt and blue pants and brown boots, slowly lowered, hiding herself behind the wooden parapet, with a red ashamed face.

"What are you saying, Jorunn?! What do you think you are, a lousy profiteer or a honest Dragon Trapper?! How can you say something like this, to a fellow Trapper, besides!"

Borghild hide more the face, blushing nervously more.

Ivar's glare didn't change, while the Captain was tightening more his white teeth.

"Stop, wait! It's fine for us! You can have also one of these Terrors, ok? It's ok, totally! We have other five of these little monsters! Take this without problem!"

Ivar and the crew turned again towards the other ship, and soon one of them grabbed the brown scaled Terror.

Then they looked at the newly smirking Eret, that chuckled softly before walking away towards his men.

"He's amazing!", Stonebutt exclaimed.

"How ingenious can he be, if he managed to take so easily those beasts!", another one said.

"Maybe we could ask him some advices, not just a dragon!", the blond girl wore in blue said.

* * *

The crew kept to talk about this for all the afternoon, while the two ships were gently slipping on the sea, towards East.

Ivar looked the sea from the bow, eyes kept on the sea.

The two ships were both sailing towards the Isle of Harkt, where the villagers had built a tavern just for Trappers, that usually sailed in the waters around it.

The stern look was finally vanished from Ivar's face, but his serious tone was still there.

For some reason, he couldn't like the new atmosphere around him.

There was something that didn't make him sure about his new meeting with the fellow Dragon Trappers.

"Ehy, Ivar! Are you sure our Gronckle was ok for you?", a voice recalled his attention.

The brown haired Trapper looked to his right, and soon found the smirk of Eret from the other ship's bow.

Ivar had to let out a soft sigh (he couldn't help to do it, at least he felt so).

"It's all ok, Eret. Everything is totally ok!", Ivar said with a fake grin.

But Eret's expression changed soon, revealing that he had felt something.

"Mmm ... I don't think I did a so friendly act to you, right?", the black haired said, looking suspiciously at the other Captain.

Ivar blinked surprised, and then said:-"No, no ... I have accepted it, and I thank you."

"It's not that you think I could have done something annoying, right?", Eret said again.

Ivar blinked again, and then huffed a bit stronger.

"Why? I mean, I could have done the same to you, so ..."

"So, this couldn't mean anything.", Eret replied with a more serious look.

Ivar looked again surprised, and again his stern look returned.

"You didn't attack us, so why should I think this?"

"Who says we couldn't do it, man?", Eret replied again.

"Why could you do it?", Ivar replied again.

"Why could? Why could?", a hoarse voice repeated.

And soon after this, a blue bird with some green parts near its chest appeared on his shoulder, blinking the eye and turning the head from a part to another.

This time Eret's eyes widened in absolute surprise.

"What is that?!"

Ivar smirked looking at the bird, and then said:-"It's my funny pet! Eret, meet Bigbeak!"

"Bigbeak, Bigbeak, Eret!", the bird repeated.

The black haired trapper looked more dumbfounded.

"It's ... it's ..."

"It's a parrot, pal! I took it from a Trader named Argus, who took it from Southern Islands! It's pretty amazing, right?", the brown haired Captain said patting the head of Bigbeak.

"Amazing!", the parrot said again.

Eret looked more dumbfounded; he has seen strange things in his life, but this ... and besides it wasn't even a dragon!

"Wow ... Well, I think it is very incredible. Even if a bit ... er"

"Not so incredible like a dragon, right?", Ivar replied annoyed.

Eret blinked, and then said:-"Well ... yep. Hoping you're not offended."

"No, no, don't worry. It's fine, everyone says it. But he's still amazing, right?"

Eret nodded:-" Well, absolutely. I am not saying the opposite!"

"Opposite! Opposite!", Bigbeak replied.

Eret almost laughed hearing it.

**Hope you liked also this!**

**Read soon also the next chapter, because soon Eret will meet the principal reason of his new, personal mission!**

**Thanks again for reading and reviewing!**

**Advices about everything is fine! Please, don't burn at me, just Constructive Criticism is accepted.**

**Sincerely, Hiccupisnotuseless**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for reading. I love you all! I hope you will like this chapter too! From the next, we'll see what is this Precious Opportunity!**

**Enjoy it,**

**Hiccupisnotuseless**

"Well, I guess everything is fine, now. Right?", Eret said.

"It was always fine!", Ivar replied.

"Hoping you won't say anything or think anything ..."

"Why should you do something like attack us, when you took a dragon that is a lot better than the one you gave us?"

"Tell me it! I could say the same!", Eret.

"No, I highly doubt it!", Ivar replied, while Jorunn approached him.

JEret looked at him again with a more serious look.

The two stood so for a while, like two challengers that were studying each other.

At least, Eret shook the head and walked on his deck.

Ivar huffed again, and then turned behind.

"I don't think he wants to attack us, Ivar! And besides ... he's so cool!", the brown haired girl said.

Ivar looked at her, and then sighed again.

"I am not saying this, Jor!"

"Then why asking him it?"

"Well, because I don't know what how to make it, but ... I can say that Trapper cannot do just good things like these ... I think he is hiding something ... something more terrible."

Actually, Ivar was sure Eret really gave them the Gronckle sincerely. He knew he was really a respectful and ecellent Dragon Trapper. But what he couldn't say was ...

"I do not know how to say it, Jor. But ... I am sure that maybe Eret is hiding something from us. I mean ... I feel he can be a person that can also something really ... really, really bad. Something that could make his attitude also ... not so trustworthy."

And kept to think this, putting the chin in his fingers, while his right eye blinked, giving him a very thoughtful look.

"But he's so GORGEOUS! And so ... wonderful!", the girl replied, blinking the eyes dreamily.

Ivar looked confused and strangely at her, and then walked away, leaving Jorunn looking at the other ship with the chin on her fingers, leaning against the parapet.

Bigbeak flew away from Ivar, and arrived on her shoulder, looking curiously at the ship.

* * *

"Eret, are you sure of what you did?", one of the men asked him.

Eret turned to him, and then kneeled near him, where the said man and other two were watching carefully the Thunderdrum.

"Sure. Dragon Trappers help each other, when they can! And besides ... we can bring something really good now!", he said, nodding at the blue sleeping dragon.

"But we gave away a lazy but always powerful dragon!", the man said confused.

"Yes, but ... _He _has so much common dragons! He has too Gronckles, we could give it away without a problem. Besides, did you see what we have here! And about the Terror ... he cannot be a big problem, those are nothing compared to this!", the black haired boy said with a devious smirk.

* * *

When Ivar opened the door of the tavern, he found the same thing he had always found the other times.

A big bunch of Trappers all reunited to the tables, talking and drinking ... in the Viking way.

At one table, a group of six Vikings were watching happily an arm wrestling match.

At another, four women were talking and chuckling loudly between them.

And at another, incredibly, two young Trappers were making out as if there wasn't any problem.

Suddenly Ivar felt someone behind him, and was greeted by the now familiar Eret's smile.

But this time it was a normal and genuine smile.

Ivar moved a bit away, letting the son of Eret walking in the tavern with his crew.

In fact, Ivar's crew was totally blocking the entrance; the Captain nodded to them, and everyone entered in the tavern, walking to the tables.

Ivar walked with Stonebutt, Roughtooth and other three of them to the tavern counter, where a big Viking with long red moustache was serving the mug.

In the moment the Trappers sat there, the man looked at them and said:-"Well well, other Trappers! Welcome here, dear fellows. Where do you come from?"

Ivar looked at him and said:-"From the Icetooth Place, Genvar."

The man with red hair blinked confused:-"How do you know my name?"

Then, he slowly stretched his hand under the counter.

"Don't take the axe, Genvar. We know your name because we came here many times.", the blond girl with blue clothes said.

"Thanks, Birghold.", Ivar said to the girl.

"I do not remember you.", Genvar said.

"I'm Ivar, the Captain of the Smasher of the Seas, you know?"

Genvar blinked in realization, and said:-"Oh ... Oooh, yes! I remember, I remember! Ok, ok, then! Be my guests!"

And lowered again, taking this time eight wooden cups.

"Mug or beer? Or maybe you want wine?"

"Me! Wine, thanks!", Elof said excitedly.

"Beer for us. Right, guys?", Ivar asked, and the others nodded.

"So, how is the village now, Genvar?"

The Viking looked at him, and then said:-"Well, everything is fine, now. The Chief is doing well his work, and the villagers are calm. Nothing is wrong, luckily. Dragons also stopped to show up, now."

Ivar nodded drinking his beer.

"Of course, they hid all around. But it's strange, they don't seem interested in attacking the villages.", a black haired woman said.

"Why, Marit? It's absurd, they could take any moment to attack the village.", Roughtooth said looking at her.

"Sorry, my sister-in law is always so.", the sturdy woman replied annoyed.

Everyone giggled amused at it, while Marit huffed annoyed, glaring at Roughtooth.

Ivar looked around him. Everything was perfectly ok, and everybody was doing the same thing they always did in the tavern.

Ivar noticed also Eret and his crew at one table, talking with other Trappers.

"Ehy there! I remember you!", a loud female voice said.

Ivar turned, and saw a tall and thin woman around 30 years.

She was wearing a dark sleeves shirt and grey pants, with black boots.

She had black braided hair, and two icy blue eyes, who looked proudly like the ones of a great warrior.

"Seaweed! Happy to see you again!", Ivar said, standing up to shake the hand of the Dragon Trapper.

"You're Ivar Roggblock, right? Yes, it's you. Happy you remember me!", the woman said smiling.

Ivar smiled too, saying:-"How could I forget one of the best Trappers around here?"

"Or maybe you like remember me for other?", Seaweed replied, blinking in a ... "certain" way.

Ivar blinked surprised, and then shook the head chuckling.

The woman chuckled amused too, and then walked besides him, sitting to his left.

"So, are you going well?", she asked.

"Yeah, no problem. No big troubles for months, luckily. And you?"

"The same. Last week I managed to brought three Zipplebacks to my costumer, without even hurting them!"

Ivar nodded smiling.

"Well. We managed to bring an entire group of Terrors without spending an entire day! Not so great, but ... you had to see them. One of them managed to cut off the hand of a man!"

Seaweed nodded. "Well, I think that maybe I could like more if a Terror brought me away you know what, instead of that Scauldron."

And then, she rose her right leg, putting it on the counter.

When he saw it, Ivar nodded again, sighing.

Seaweed took her pant and slowly revealed her leg ... or better, what there was now instead of her leg.

"A Scauldron? You were very lucky. Oh, I mean ... well, it was a Scauldron, so ...", Roughtooth said, but then stopped soon, seeing the terrible glare of Seaweed.

"I can understand why you wanted a Terror, dear.", Ivar said.

"Well, you are still great, truly.", Elof said.

Seaweed smiled at him, and then put the wooden leg down.

"I don't know what you felt, when it happened. I can say I probably ... no, sorry.", Ivar said.

"What? What happened to you?"- Seaweed asked-"I don't remember you had something like my leg, last times."

Ivar nodded.

"Because mine cannot be noticed so easily. And maybe it could be considered ... a not so terrible lose, compared to a leg."

And with that, he took a wooden spoon near him.

And then, he approached it nearer his face.

Genvar looked confused, but when he saw what the young Captain was doing, he tried to say something.

But Stonebutt rose the hand, meaning he had to let Ivar doing it.

And so, the eyes of everyone focused on the spoon, that slowly arrived nearer the left eye of Ivar ... touching it.

Soon Genvar and Seaweed understood what he meant.

The spoon touched the eye twice, and a little noise was heard. Like glass's.

But actually, they could easily say it WAS glass.

"Oh dear! I ... I bet this can be more terrible, Ivar.", the black haired woman said.

Ivar looked at her, and then smirked.

"No. If you lose a leg, an eye ... part of the head ... it is always a terrible experience. Sure, some can be more hurtful than others ... but it is always a terrible experience. The important, is always going on, because if you lose a limb, you didn't lose the life! You can go on, you can still do what you can do! This is the important!"

Everyone nodded.

"Yes! That's right!"

Soon everyone turned behind, and they noticed a tall and thin man, around 40, looking down at them. He was wearing a mariner's grey tunic, all dirty, and brown pants, with grey boots.

His tunic's sleeves were obviously cut. And also his pants presented some little holes.

He had a brown beard that was covering all his chin, and his brown hair covered just the temples.

And on his face, there was an evident blue eye similar to Seaweed's. Because on the left side of the face ... there was a black eye-patch.

"I heard your conversation about missing limbs, and so I came to say the same things this lad said now. I know how terrible can be losing an eye, boy. But I have to say this ..."- and pointed at his eye patch-"... is not the direct attack of a dragon. I remember it as if it was yesterday.

There, on the icy waters of North, just me and my crew, always ready to face any danger, there we were, grabbing tightly that rope.

The ship was swung everywhere, and four of us also fell in the water due it. That Thunderdrum, how he could swim. Damn it, it was as if it was a yak with the plow! I was grabbing it with all my strength, there wasn't any chance that dragon could beat me!

And while I was doing this, both the eyes on that beast ... I couldn't manage to prevent it.

When I felt the ice in my face, as if it was sharpened like an axe ... it was too late! But it didn't make me look behind, it make me look on, and so face those beasts even better than before!"

Ivar looked at him, and then sighed, nodding again.

"How happened to you?", the man asked, before recomposing himself saying:-"Oh, damn it, how could I forget the good manners? I'm Bloodnose, Captain of the crew of the Sea Attackers!"

Ivar shook his hand, and then also Seaweed.

Then, the Captain of the Sea Smashers sighed and lowered slowly the head saying:-"It was all fault of a Smothering Smokebreath, in my case.

A little, stupid, insidious Smothering Smokebreath.

I was trying to capture it and its buddies, when they ... the smoke was around us in few seconds. Not knowing where to go, we stood at out place.

But after some minute and any change, we moved. And those little scoundrels took the opportunity ... and so I found myself crying painfully due my bleeding face. But I can say it wasn't so good ... also for that dragon. I was avenged soon; my friend Stonebutt managed to take that rascal and then to smash its head with his hammer in two seconds. I wish I could see it without any pain ... but you know how life for Trappers is. Always so, like everyone's is."

Everyone nodded firmly.

Genvar looked confused, and asked:-"But then why do you keep it?"

Ivar, Seaweed and Bloodnose looked at him, and then said:-" Because, if you think about it more, it's like a normal Viking life! Just, we are nearer to those beasts than others . Because, is also thank to us Dragons cannot be a more serious danger for people.

You know how many people is so happy to do our work? They always ask us to stay in the village we helped because we are seen like heroes ... and actually we are kind of heroes. We are just people who manages to fight and capture dragons more than others."

Ivar finished, and looked behind him, at all the other Trappers in the tavern.

Seaweed and Bloodnose looked at him too, and soon their eyes widened in amazement.

"What the ... the last heir of the Erets!", Seaweed exclaimed.

At her words, the other part of the Trappers that wasn't talking with him turned to watch Eret, son of Eret.

The said boy looked at them confused. But then his particular smirk appeared, and he stood up, looking at his many admirers.

Just few seconds ... and the entire crowd burst out in cheers.

"You are the best, Eret!"

"That's a Trapper through and through!"

"The real Trapper!"

"You're our master, Eret!"

"You know perfectly what a Trapper is!", Seaweed said.

Eret looked at her, and smiled recognizing her.

"You know it perfectly too, Seaweed!"

"But you cannot help one of the superiors here!", she replied excited.

Eret shook the head chuckling, and then started to talk again.

"Yes. I admit I am one of the best here! But this doesn't mean you are less than me!

I mean, whoever of you is to the service of our dearest costumers, is a good thing. The important is, a Trapper in the zone!"

Everyone cheered again, and he kept to talk.

"And if we weren't here, how could Vikings do it better? We just give them a more expert hand.

Dragon Trappers need to be in this world, and it's only a good thing that are many of us around you.

It's even better if there are generations of these Trappers, absolutely. We cannot help to do this! Sure we can truly be good helpers for everyone!", he finished.

Everyone in the tavern looked at him, and then many nodded at his words, while others clapped their hands, even if in a not so happy way. For them, it was like Eret has just said the most normal words in the world.

And actually it was true. But still, it was said by the one considered probably as the best of the Trappers in all the world.

"Keep so, fellow Trappers! The important is keeping so! Keep so, and everything will keep to be always better!"

And with that, the Trapper sat down at his place again, and reprised to talk and drink with his men and the Trappers around him.

But soon he was surrounded by almost half of the tavern.

Seaweed and Bloodnose nodded with a smile at him, and the one-legged woman stood up to go where the Trapper was, while Jorunn couldn't help to blinking again at the "charming" son of Eret.

Ivar looked at him with a bit annoyed look, and then reprise to drink his beer.

**Hope you liked this chapter about Trappers in general. I wanted actually to show how they consider their work.**

**But I can assure you Eret respects all his fellow Trappers, and he doesn't consider himself as the best.**

**Names like Ivar, Elof, Jorunn, Birghold, Marit are actually Scandinavian names, from Sweden and Norway.**

**Hope you liked it, please review and say whatever you want, advices or even requests. I'll try to put them in the story!**

**Thanks again, you are all great!**

**Sincerely,**

**Hiccupisnotuseless**


End file.
